But on Saturday afternoon, he was the starter who led Wofford to a share of the Southern Conference football championship. His third-down run in overtime set up the winning touchdown as the Terriers beat Chattanooga, 16-13, at Gibbs Stadium.

In the stands rooting for Wofford, and in particular Lawson, was former NFL head coach Sam Wyche, who led the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl XXIII in the 1988 season.

“I was on the edge of my seat, hoping James would have a good day — and he did,” Wyche said. “I thought he looked terrific. He kept his poise in overtime and led a team to a win against a very good Chattanooga team. I can't tell you how satisfying it was and how proud I am of him.”

Wyche was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Pickens High School, where Lawson started for three years and threw for 50 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 yards in three seasons.

Lawson said that as a freshman backup at Pickens, he had heard the name but had no idea of Wyche's past, which includes 12 years as head coach of the Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being a top assistant for the San Francisco 49ers.

“One day, our team went to a movie instead of having practice and I rode there with the starting quarterback in Coach Wyche's car,” Lawson said. “He pulled out his cell phone and said, ‘Go through my phone and call somebody, if you want.' … We called Joe Montana.

“Then it hit me. This guy knew a lot of people.”

Lawson is a third-year sophomore who took a red-shirt in 2010 at Wofford and didn't play in 2011, either. This season, he saw mop-up duty in blowout games until second-stringer Michael Weimer got hurt at Appalachian State and starter Brian Kass went down in the first quarter two weeks later at Samford.

So in a game that would either give Wofford a share of the championship or all but eliminate the Terriers from FCS playoff consideration, ending their season with a 1 p.m. game Saturday at South Carolina, it was up to the walk-on.

Lawson, who on academic scholarship, is still not getting any money from athletics.

“It's a lot different playing against (Division II) Lincoln University than it is playing against Chattanooga for the Southern Conference championship,” Lawson said. “The great thing about our team is that nobody is considered a walk-on. Guys don't look at me that way. They accept me like I was a scholarship player. It's awesome. Everybody here gets a shot. It's the same for a full-scholarship player or a walk-on, no-scholarship player. I love that about Wofford.”

Lawson said his only offers while at Pickens were from a couple of Division II schools and lower. But he listened to Wyche, who encouraged the quarterback to think bigger.

“Coach Wyche told me to go walk on somewhere and show them what I could do as opposed to playing for a smaller school,” Lawson said. “He's a great man and I trust him. I took his advice.”

They were both thinking, however, that an offer, even as a walk-on, could come from Furman. Wyche played quarterback for the Paladins. Lawsons's father, uncle and grandfather played for the Paladins.

“Honestly, in full disclosure, I was trying to get him to go to Furman and trying to get Furman to be interested in him,” Wyche said. “At the time, they didn't feel like they needed another quarterback. That was (former head coach) Bobby Lamb, not the current staff. I thought a third-generation Furman football player would carry a little bit of weight. It didn't happen.

“But I thought he should stay at that level. I thought he was good enough to do it. Now he's playing on an outstanding team, a Southern Conference championship team, at Wofford.”

All three quarterbacks are healthy enough to play this week, but if may very well be Lawson who starts and leads the way against South Carolina. That would be quite an experience for a someone who has never even been to a game at Williams-Brice Stadium.

“I really didn't see anything different Saturday than in the way he handled himself at Pickens,” Wyche said. “He was the leader, not only in practice but in the classroom and on game day. Everybody looked to him to tell them what to do next. The good quarterbacks I've been around, guys like Joe Montana and Boomer Esiason, were ready on game day even if they were not starting for whatever reason. James has that same mentality.

“He's an extremely intelligent person as well as a poised football player. You can't be poised if you're not a quick-thinker and he was at the top of his class at Pickens. I don't think he's ever gotten frustrated at Wofford, but he was certainly eager to play and was being a team guy. It takes a savvy guy to look at the big picture and realize where he is within that big picture.”

<p>A month ago, former walk-on James Lawson was the third quarterback and barely a second thought.</p><p>But on Saturday afternoon, he was the starter who led Wofford to a share of the Southern Conference football championship. His third-down run in overtime set up the winning touchdown as the Terriers beat Chattanooga, 16-13, at Gibbs Stadium.</p><p>In the stands rooting for Wofford, and in particular Lawson, was former NFL head coach Sam Wyche, who led the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl XXIII in the 1988 season.</p><p>“I was on the edge of my seat, hoping James would have a good day — and he did,” Wyche said. “I thought he looked terrific. He kept his poise in overtime and led a team to a win against a very good Chattanooga team. I can't tell you how satisfying it was and how proud I am of him.”</p><p>Wyche was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Pickens High School, where Lawson started for three years and threw for 50 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 yards in three seasons. </p><p>Lawson said that as a freshman backup at Pickens, he had heard the name but had no idea of Wyche's past, which includes 12 years as head coach of the Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being a top assistant for the San Francisco 49ers. </p><p>“One day, our team went to a movie instead of having practice and I rode there with the starting quarterback in Coach Wyche's car,” Lawson said. “He pulled out his cell phone and said, 'Go through my phone and call somebody, if you want.' … We called Joe Montana.</p><p>“Then it hit me. This guy knew a lot of people.”</p><p>Lawson is a third-year sophomore who took a red-shirt in 2010 at Wofford and didn't play in 2011, either. This season, he saw mop-up duty in blowout games until second-stringer Michael Weimer got hurt at Appalachian State and starter Brian Kass went down in the first quarter two weeks later at Samford.</p><p>So in a game that would either give Wofford a share of the championship or all but eliminate the Terriers from FCS playoff consideration, ending their season with a 1 p.m. game Saturday at South Carolina, it was up to the walk-on. </p><p>Lawson, who on academic scholarship, is still not getting any money from athletics.</p><p>“It's a lot different playing against (Division II) Lincoln University than it is playing against Chattanooga for the Southern Conference championship,” Lawson said. “The great thing about our team is that nobody is considered a walk-on. Guys don't look at me that way. They accept me like I was a scholarship player. It's awesome. Everybody here gets a shot. It's the same for a full-scholarship player or a walk-on, no-scholarship player. I love that about Wofford.”</p><p>Lawson said his only offers while at Pickens were from a couple of Division II schools and lower. But he listened to Wyche, who encouraged the quarterback to think bigger.</p><p>“Coach Wyche told me to go walk on somewhere and show them what I could do as opposed to playing for a smaller school,” Lawson said. “He's a great man and I trust him. I took his advice.”</p><p>They were both thinking, however, that an offer, even as a walk-on, could come from Furman. Wyche played quarterback for the Paladins. Lawsons's father, uncle and grandfather played for the Paladins.</p><p>“Honestly, in full disclosure, I was trying to get him to go to Furman and trying to get Furman to be interested in him,” Wyche said. “At the time, they didn't feel like they needed another quarterback. That was (former head coach) Bobby Lamb, not the current staff. I thought a third-generation Furman football player would carry a little bit of weight. It didn't happen.</p><p>“But I thought he should stay at that level. I thought he was good enough to do it. Now he's playing on an outstanding team, a Southern Conference championship team, at Wofford.”</p><p>All three quarterbacks are healthy enough to play this week, but if may very well be Lawson who starts and leads the way against South Carolina. That would be quite an experience for a someone who has never even been to a game at Williams-Brice Stadium.</p><p> “I really didn't see anything different Saturday than in the way he handled himself at Pickens,” Wyche said. “He was the leader, not only in practice but in the classroom and on game day. Everybody looked to him to tell them what to do next. The good quarterbacks I've been around, guys like Joe Montana and Boomer Esiason, were ready on game day even if they were not starting for whatever reason. James has that same mentality.</p><p>“He's an extremely intelligent person as well as a poised football player. You can't be poised if you're not a quick-thinker and he was at the top of his class at Pickens. I don't think he's ever gotten frustrated at Wofford, but he was certainly eager to play and was being a team guy. It takes a savvy guy to look at the big picture and realize where he is within that big picture.”</p>